TIME Magazine reported in its issue of Mar. 2, 1925 that Coolidge practiced the thrift he preached. While some of the orders may seem somewhat petty, I do wonder what Coolidge would think of the truly imperial and bloated White House organization of today. No doubt he would find plenty of room for cutting waste and extravagance:
The press headlined “Coolidge Feels Saving Lash,” “Coolidge is Victim of Own Thrift,” etc. apropos of the fact that the President has had the White House budget reduced by $12,500. Incidents of the retrenchment: replacement of paper drinking cups by old-fashioned glasses; no free pencils for newspaper correspondents; reduction of the number of towels placed daily in White House office lavatories from 175 to 88; orders that all lights be turned out promptly when not needed; repeated use of manila envelopes for documents to be carried from one department to another; rationing, by weight, of food in the White House kitchen; replacement of a torn White House flag by a new one, with the understanding that the torn one be mended and used elsewhere. When the President turned in a dull eraser, the stockroom returned it with the comment that no new ones had been provided.
